Perhaps you had intentions of fixing up your credit. Or maybe just keeping the status quo going, which hopefully is a high FICO score. But then this country (and your family) was hit with the biggest financial bomb we’ve ever seen. How do you know when it’s time to make your credit repair wait?

Your priorities aren’t in order. What does a psychologist like Abraham Maslow have to do with credit repair? Maslow created a simple pyramid with basic human needs at the bottom and feelings of personal accomplishment at the top. Meaning, you cannot worry about the direction your credit is headed if you don’t have food in the house.

You do not have a job. Before you can focus on removing negative information on your account, you’ve got to have a steady stream of income or put all efforts toward getting one. Although it is perfectly legal for a potential employer to pull your credit report and not hire you based on your financial risk, you’ve got to focus on landing interviews before all else.

Transportation is an issue. Forget keeping your credit clean for a big car loan if you do not have a way to get to work right now. Pull the cash together for a $500 beater and resume the credit clean up later, as this link explains. Losing your job means lack of money for bills which results in bigger credit problems.

Cash reserves are on empty. Most financial experts recommend having at least $500 stowed away for an emergency (the suggestion above is a good example of why you will need this). Time must be spent accumulating cash instead of sorting through your credit history, no matter how many times it needs to be replenished.

There’s not enough paycheck to cover budget basics. If you find you do not have enough money in the month to cover just the must-have items like housing, food and insurance, you have to do more than just worry about what is being reported on your credit but actual prevent negative remarks from happening. That means finding another source of income so accounts do not become delinquent.